“To date, there was little understanding of how the estrous cycle affects neurons in living mice,” said Nora Wolcott, the paper’s lead author. Now, thanks to advanced microscopy techniques, Goard’s team was able to measure the structure and activity of neurons across multiple estrous cycles, thereby gaining insight into sex hormones’ role in brain plasticity and memory. Other authors on the paper include William Redman, Marie Karpinska, and Emily Jacobs.

Researchers observe how fluctuations in ovarian hormones shape the structure and function in the mouse hippocampus, with implications for neural plasticity in humans.